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Start Your Week By Checking Out These Epic Old-School Chicago Photos

By Justin Breen | April 24, 2017 5:49am | Updated on April 24, 2017 6:54am
 Photos of Chicago's past from the Library of Congress.
Old Chicago photos
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CHICAGO — Chicago history geeks could spend hours looking at old-school photos of the city from the Library of Congress.

Hundreds of photos from turn-of-the-century Chicago are featured on the Library of Congress' "Detroit Publishing Company Collection." That collection includes 25,000-plus photos of the eastern United States from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Hundreds of the photos showcase Chicago, including the lakefront, railroads, hotels, universities and other hotspots.

According to the Library of Congress, "the collection includes the work of a number of photographers, one of whom was the well known photographer William Henry Jackson. ... Subjects strongly represented in the collection include city and town views, including streets and architecture; parks and gardens; recreation; and industrial and work scene."

Chicago in 1900 was the country's second-largest city, with about 1.7 million residents. Some of the photos show the Chicago River, which had its flow successfully reversed by the city in 1900.

Check out the incredible Chicago photos in the slideshow above.